Case Study: Talent Development And Workforce Plan At Mccormick Company

Introduction

McCormick spice company operates with a specific set of driving values: Ethics, Teamwork, High Performance, Innovation, Concern for others, and Success. Their culture is based on principals that include “Power of People” as well as “Performance-Led Performance”. “Innovation” is the foundation for all of these layers of ethics, principals, and strategies. McCormick needs to develop programs from within, seeing as people are their largest and most important investments, in order to build its foundation of innovation. To date, McCormick has developed a strategy in which succession planning is one of the main focuses of training and development. With that in mind, the leadership development program known as Multiple Management Board (MBB) was developed in which development is combined with goal achievements. Evaluations in the MMB are not easy and members are evaluated by their peers as well as their own performance. Currently, all of the training that is developed is done so with the needs of the business in mind.

Initiative

As McCormick branches out and continues acquiring companies such as Reckitt Benckiser’s food division this year, partner with sustainability projects such as NCBA-CLUSA and USAID helping farmers in Madagascar, and further its appeal to millennials it is becoming ever more apparent that McCormick must further innovate its training strategies to meet the needs of the changing workforce. Strategic training and development initiatives can take many roads. I would like to emphasize Expanding who is trained. With this in mind, I would like to develop a “McCormick Leadership Academy” for entry and lower level staff learning and development. In this program, basic management skills such as conflict resolution, communication, change management, etc. will be imparted to entry level staff who may not be on the horizon for an executive or high-level leadership career, but can instead be effective leaders in their areas.

Metrics

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative, I will use a balanced scorecard approach. The balanced scorecard is a performance measurement tool that considers four different perspectives:

• Customer - time, quality, performance, service, cost
• Internal – processes that influence customer satisfaction
• Innovation and learning – operating efficiency, employee satisfaction, continuous improvement
• Financial – profitability, growth, shareholder value.

By utilizing this method, we can see the total picture of the effects of training and then evaluate whether to continue the initiative as is, continue with changes, or scrap the project all together.

Non-trainers Training

Knowing a subject does not make one qualified to teach it. In addition, anyone who is imparting knowledge as a subject matter expert (SME) should be validated as an actual subject matter expert before they being imparting their knowledge. Training should always be facilitated by someone who has been certified by leadership to thoroughly understand the subject matter they are being asked to train in as well as certified to effectively and efficiently be able to impart this information utilizing the standard training process as developed by the corporate training team.

Conclusion

As Robert Lawless, former CEO of McCormick stated, “There isn’t a benchmark. Money is not a restriction. Learning is driven by one thing: strategy. ” The sky is the limit when it comes to employee learning and development and everyone should be given the opportunity to advance themselves within the organization they devote so much time and effort to. And, McCormick stands to benefit the most.